


The Blue Plastic Hairbrush of Doom

by WindChimeGhost



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, Corporal Punishment, Demigods, Disciplinary Spanking, Gen, Greek and Roman Mythology - Freeform, Non-Consensual Spanking, Non-Sexual Spanking, Over the Knee, Spanking, spank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 17:43:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3497162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindChimeGhost/pseuds/WindChimeGhost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Octavian gets his comeuppance at the hands of Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Reyna.</p><p> </p><p>Contains parental discipline/corporal punishment/spanking. Don’t like, Don’t read.</p><p>Takes place after ‘The Blood of Olympus’. May contain spoilers!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Blue Plastic Hairbrush of Doom

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Critique not desired ~
> 
>   **~ This fanfic contains parental discipline/corporal punishment (spanking). If you don't like, don't read/comment. ~**
> 
>   **I understand that some people get offended or disturbed over the subject of spanking. If you're one of these, then please do not read this fanfic. You have been properly warned ahead of time. If you proceed to read my fanfic anyway and then post your opinions/logic in a comment, it will be ignored and deleted. This fanfic is fictitious and was written purely for fun. I did not post it on here to start debates or to be lectured. We all have our own opinions. So please show some respect when commenting.**
> 
>  
> 
> When I first started jotting down notes for this fic, I originally planned on it being just Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Octavian, same as in the fanart I drew of it (this fanart can be found in my Deviantart gallery). So the first chapter is the original story. But then I got to thinking that Reyna probably would jump at the chance to do this to Octavian too. So I started jotting down notes for a second part.
> 
> While reading The Heroes of Olympus, I felt like Octavian could do with a good spanking. I prefer it to the ending he got in the last book. I'm actually surprised that I haven't seen a fanfic for this before now. So I thought I would take it upon myself to write it.
> 
>  
> 
> This story takes place AFTER ‘The Blood of Olympus’.
> 
> And just to explain why Octavian is alive at this point: He’s one of my favorite characters (yeah, don’t judge me), so I’ve created an ‘alternate ending’ inside of my head where Will Solace saved his life by cutting him loose of the onager right before it fired. Reyna and Frank discussed banning Octavian after the war, but decided instead to allow him to stay at Camp Jupiter where they can keep an eye on him. Octavian has been stripped of rank and spends his days working in the unicorn stables and helping with rewriting the Sibylline Books with Rachel, Ella, and Tyson. He suffers from mild depression to a certain extent over losing his ability to tell prophecies. He’s calmed down considerably, although he does have outbursts of madness from time to time and still looks at the Greeks with disgust.
> 
> This is MY alternate ending for Octavian that I entertain in my own mind. I do not claim it to be canon by any means. I just made it up to make myself feel better after reading Octavian’s demise in the last book, and also so it will give me a way to write fanfics of him that take place after the series. If you’re an Octavian fan, then you might like this idea. If you’re a hater of the character, then please ignore it and do not bother to leave comments on my story. ANY bashing or flaming I get will be deleted.
> 
> Percy Jackson and the Olympians/The Heroes of Olympus and all related characters © Rick Riordan
> 
> Fanfic and plot ©2015 by me (please do not take, use, or edit without my permission)

Rachel Elizabeth Dare walked slowly into the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. She gazed around her at the white columns and the tall golden ceiling before turning her eyes to the huge statue of Jupiter himself standing in the center. She marveled at the beautiful artwork. Ever since she decided to come to Camp Jupiter to help with rewriting the Sibylline Books with Ella and Tyson, she couldn’t help feeling excited. Not only was she in San Francisco, California, but she was also getting the opportunity to see some wonderful Roman sculpture and artwork first-hand. She made a mental note to make some paintings of the scenery in her free time. If she got the opportunity, she also planned to wander outside of camp to look for art museums.

The only thing she dreaded?—working with Octavian. Reyna and Frank had discussed banishing the augur from the camp after their battle with the earth goddess, Gaea. But they both agreed on it being too risky to let Octavian wander around in the outer world. With his state of mind, there was no telling what trouble he would eventually find himself in, or what evil he would gather together and unleash on the camps in the future. So they decided to allow him to stay within the confines of Camp Jupiter, with Reyna keeping a close watch on him. Rachel wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wasn’t looking forward to working alongside a madman, especially after all of the things he had done. He almost destroyed Camp Half-Blood and all of her friends. What was one supposed to say to working beside someone like that?

Reyna told her when she arrived that Octavian had calmed down considerably, but she also warned that his outlook on the Greeks hadn’t changed much and that she might have trouble coming from him occasionally. Ever since they brought him back to Camp Jupiter, he had fallen into a melancholy, depressed state and acted distraught over the fact that he could no longer decipher the future (not that his predictions had always been accurate before anyway). When he wasn’t working in the unicorn stables, he could be found milling about in Jupiter’s temple, mutilating stuffed animals in hopes that his gift of prophecy would miraculously return.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare looked ahead of her and saw Octavian leaning over the marble altar at the base of Jupiter’s statue, examining the fluffy gutted innards of some poor stuffed animal he’d just sacrificed. The de-stuffed pink pelt of the toy was lying to the side along with a gleaming knife. Looking closer, Rachel saw that it had once been a Care Bear. The floor around the altar and around the boy’s feet was littered with hundreds of de-stuffed toys in piles along with mounds of discarded polyester stuffing and plastic pellets.

This boy needed help.

Although Rachel wasn’t entirely sure if she was looking at a boy or some scarecrow that had decided to take a stroll out of a nearby field. The person standing in front of her was the skinniest, scrawniest, palest kid she had ever seen. She never realized it the night they first met on the rooftop in New York City. Then again, more important and pressing matters were happening at the time. She admitted that she couldn’t remember all of the details. Most of it was foggy now. It had also been dark, and Octavian had been wearing battle armor.

She studied Octavian a few more minutes, partly out of hesitation to approach him. She wasn’t sure how he would respond to her being there. The boy wore a purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt, a white toga, jeans, and white tennis shoes, all of which appeared to be two or three sizes too large for his body. His stringy blond hair was all mussed and sticking up every which way like he had just recently ran his fingers through it. It still amazed her that this was Camp Jupiter’s troublemaker and someone who had nearly started a war between both demigod camps all because he thought he was going to save the Romans and please Apollo. Judging by the way the guy looked, a strong breeze could come up and easily take care of the problem.

Rachel cleared her throat. Immediately Octavian’s head snapped around to face her. It startled her at how fast it happened. It was almost as if Octavian knew she had been standing there all along. As usual, he wore a crazed, almost mad, expression. It scared her, and that was saying a lot since there wasn’t much she feared anymore. The more she looked into the face of this boy, the more she thought it looked like he wanted to eat her soul. She entertained the thought of turning around and running in the opposite direction and telling Reyna she wouldn’t be able to go through with this, but she pushed the thought aside and stood her ground.

Octavian’s eyebrows scrunched up in a confused way like he was trying to figure out why this girl with the frizzy red hair and marker drawings all over her jeans was standing in front of him. Slowly Octavian’s eyes moved down, scrutinizing every inch of Rachel before darting up to study her face again. His blue eyes looked deep into her green ones, making the girl feel highly uncomfortable. Again, thoughts of turning back entered her mind. But, again, she pushed them away. She wasn’t about to let this little wimp scare her into retreating. After all, she had already faced much worse.

“Gods of Olympus, boy, do they ever feed you at this camp?” said Rachel, breaking the long silence. She marveled over Octavian’s complexion. Coming to think of it, he looked sickly like he hadn’t seen a bed in two or three weeks—make that months.

“Who are you?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. He ignored her remark, which she was glad of. His eyes again darted to her frizzy red hair like he was trying to figure out if it was really her hair or a bird’s nest.

“You should already know. I’m Rachel Elizabeth Dare, former host of the Oracle of Delphi. We met on the rooftop the night I gave Annabeth’s letter to Reyna—you know, in New York. You doubted that I was telling the truth about being the Oracle.”

“Oh, yes.” Octavian narrowed his eyes. “Now I remember.” He opened his mouth to say something else but stopped. He looked down at the blue plastic hairbrush Rachel held in her hand. She was tapping it against her leg like it was some nervous habit she had. He recalled her doing the same thing that night on the rooftop. And something she said about hitting Kronos with it also came back to him. He didn’t know what sort of magic it held, but if she could take down the lord of the Titans with it, he didn’t want to find out. He cleared his throat nervously, turning his eyes back to her face. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here because we’re supposed to work together. You, Ella, Tyson, and I are supposed to rewrite the Sibylline Books.”

“I wasn’t aware of this. Who told you we would be working together?”

“Reyna,” Rachel simply replied.

Octavian remained quiet.

Rachel’s eyes wandered around the temple. “This is actually a cool place, except for the plushie graveyard you’ve got going on over there.” Rachel pointed at the pile of de-stuffed animals with her brush.

Octavian scowled at her and then turned the scowl to her orange T-shirt as if seeing it for the first time. Underneath the dried paint smears and splatters, he could just make out the black ‘Camp Half-Blood’ logo. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and mumbled, “Graecus.”

“ _Excuse_ me?” Rachel raised her eyebrows and folded her arms over her chest, thinking he had called her a dirty name.

He sighed, rolling his eyes up toward the ceiling. “Greek,” he breathed in frustration as if Rachel was wasting his time. “Greek demigod.”

“Actually, no, I’m not.”

This time, it was Octavian’s turn to raise eyebrows.

“I’m not a demigod. I’m human—one of the few that can see through the Mist.”

Octavian wrinkled his nose again and turned his head slightly as if a human was even more revolting than a Greek demigod.

“Greek, human, demigod, whatever. Point is you’re not Roman. Get out!” He waved her off. “Daises will sprout in the Underworld before I work with you.” He turned back to the altar and his gutted plushie.

Rachel stepped forward and snatched Octavian by his ear, pulling him partly down the steps.

“OW!” he shrieked in a high-pitched voice that took Rachel by surprise. One would have thought he got hit in the groin. “What do you think you’re doing?? Owwwww!” He hissed and winced as Rachel tightened her grip.

“Reyna also warned me that I might have trouble with you.”

“UNHAND ME AT ONCE, YOU GRAECUS SCUM!” Octavian bellowed, his voice echoing in the temple’s ceiling.

“I don’t think so.” Rachel smirked. “We’re going to get one thing straight right now. You are not in charge of me or this project. As former host of Delphi, Reyna put _me_ in charge. And she told me I’m free to do whatever I need to do to keep you under control if I had any trouble with you.”

Octavian uttered a few words that Rachel wouldn’t dare repeat.

“What a mouth,” she tsked. “You are an annoying, arrogant little brat, do you know that?” She kept a firm hold on him. “I noticed it right away that night on the rooftop. It amazes me how Reyna has put up with you all this time.”

Octavian tried twisting around in Rachel’s hold so he could look at her face to face, but it only succeeded in causing more pain to his ear. So he stopped.

“If Reyna thinks I’m going to work with you, she’s got another thing coming. It’ll be a cold day in Tartarus before I’ll—OWWW!” he screeched when Rachel squeezed his ear. She then let go of him. Octavian winced and backed away from her, his hand cupped over his injured ear.

“You’re going to learn your place right here and now, because once we get into doing this project, I’m not going to stand for any of your attitude.”

Octavian glared at her. How DARE this…this… _Greek_ talk to him in that way! Okay, technically she wasn’t really Greek, but she was from the Greek camp, which meant she sided and associated with them. That was just as bad in his books.

“Graecus scumbag,” he seethed, his eyes looking like they might pop out of his head. “I wish I could have destroyed you all.”

Rachel stood with her arms crossed over her chest. She contemplated the boy in front of her, looking him up and down. She pursed her lips a few times as if she were trying to make up her mind about something. Then she nodded to no one in particular and turned around to look and see if anyone was watching before turning back to Octavian.

“Undo your belt,” Rachel finally said.

Octavian’s eyebrows rose and he turned a puzzled and confused look to her, thinking he had heard her wrong. “I beg your pardon?”

“Undo your belt,” she repeated. “I’m assuming you’re wearing one underneath that bed sheet. I hope you are because I can’t imagine what else could be holding those jeans up.”

Octavian glanced down at his baggy pants and turned a cautious look to Rachel, a smirk eventually forming on his lips.

“I don’t take orders from you,” he sneered. “Especially ones that are as outrageous as the one you just mentioned.”

Without any warning, Rachel quickly reached out and struck Octavian on the left side of his backside with the flat side of her brush.

“OW!” he shouted, backing even farther away from her. He threw his hand behind him to rub out the sting. “Wha…? Are all of you Greeks completely mad??” he half squeaked, confusion in his voice.

“Something tells me you’ve had that coming for a long time,” Rachel said. “And there’s going to be more where that came from—a lot more.”

It took a few minutes for that to sink in, but finally, it hit the augur what she meant and his mouth dropped open.

“N-n-n-now hold on. Wait!” Octavian held his hands out in front of him and started backing up, bumping into the altar. “Let’s be reasonable about this. Y-you can’t do this. It isn’t right.”

“Give me a reason why.”

“Well…f-for one thing, I’m too old,” he squeaked.

“You aren’t too old. You’re eighteen,” Rachel replied.

Octavian was momentarily dumbfounded how she even knew that, but he shook off his surprise and assumed it was part of her having been connected with Delphi. “Like I said…I’m too old.”

“Octavian…”

“What?”

“Your belt, or I’m going to tell Reyna you won’t cooperate.”

“Y-y-y-you’re going to regret this!” he said before slowly reaching under his toga and unlatching his belt buckle.

“Like I said, Reyna told me I could do whatever I have to to keep you under control.” Without saying another word or giving Octavian a chance to protest further, Rachel grabbed Octavian by the bicep and pulled him over to the steps. There she seated herself and pulled Octavian over her knees.

Octavian screeched out insults and kicked and flailed, doing whatever he possibly could to hinder the situation he suddenly found himself in. Rachel grabbed onto his arms and forced them under him and threw her arm over him to try and keep him in place. At this moment, she was glad that he was lanky and could easily be brought under control by a few simple moves. If he had been a lot bigger, like Jason or Frank, she would have never attempted something like this. It was still hard, though, since Octavian’s legs still kicked and pinwheeled, making it difficult to get a good hold on him. At least she had the front part of him secured.

Rachel then grabbed onto the waistband of his jeans and pulled them down slightly. She had no desire or intentions of fully exposing him. She was merciful enough to allow him to keep some of his dignity, although he probably didn’t deserve it. Besides, she didn’t care to be scarred for life from seeing Octavian’s fully exposed posterior. All she wanted to do was pull his jeans down enough where he could feel what she was about to do to him without much padding being in the way of it.

“Teddy bear undies?” Rachel shook her head, suppressing a laugh. “I should have known.”

“Please, don’t do this!” Octavian blushed. “This isn’t right!”

Octavian struggled to look behind him and somehow managed a glance. Rachel held her bright blue plastic hairbrush in her hand as she moved him into position. His eyes locked onto it, a knot of fear forming in the pit of his stomach. It didn’t look friendly. Did she really plan to hit him with that?

“No, no, no, no.” Octavian began to squirm again. “You are not going to do this.”

“Oh, yes, I am,” Rachel said, resting her hairbrush on Octavian’s backside. “I think I speak for everyone when I say that you are in bad need of this. If we’re going to work together, you are going to have to learn your place. And that place is definitely not in charge.”

Octavian whimpered, despite himself. It wasn’t fair! He had already been stripped of his rank and put to work in the unicorn stables like some sort of commoner. Wasn’t that humiliation enough? Now he was about to be spanked by a Greek!

Octavian was quickly brought out of his thoughts at feeling Rachel’s brush come down sharply on his backside with a crisp crack.

“OW!” Octavian yelped. He hissed as the first good sting made its way through his boxers. Much to his dismay, another swat followed the first, right on the same spot, and then another one after that. Soon Rachel fell into a steady rhythm of laying hard swat after hard swat, moving her brush over both of his cheeks. Octavian screamed, yelled, and kicked with each spank applied to him. Once or twice he uttered a foul word or insult, which earned him even harder swats than the last. After this, he tried cursing in Latin so the girl couldn’t understand him. But Rachel Elizabeth Dare was no fool. She knew exactly what he was doing, and applied her brush accordingly.

After about six minutes of this, Octavian stilled his tongue and allowed his pent up emotions to finally burst through. Tears streamed down his face as he uttered out agonized wails and cries like he was being killed. Rachel wasn’t going to fall for it, though. She knew he was exaggerating most of it in order to get her to stop.

“Owwwwwwww!” he cried. “I cannot take anymore! Unhand me this instant!”

Rachel said nothing as she brought her hairbrush down again, harder. She was careful not to hurt him permanently, but she applied enough force to make this moment memorable for Octavian.

“OUCH!” Octavian clinched his teeth. “Didn’t you hear me? I said unhand me!”

“I’m not going to stop until you learn your place. Since you’re demanding that I let you go, apparently you haven’t learned much.” Rachel pushed his jeans down a little more and started working her brush’s magic over the under curve of Octavian’s bottom. The augur arched his back and let out an unnatural watery screech at the pain he felt being applied to his more tender areas. He at once began kicking his legs again, trying his best to hit Rachel’s spanking arm in hopes of knocking the brush out of her hand. In response to this, she simply smacked his rear that much harder.

“I can’t take anymore.” Octavian sniffled.

“Are you going to act better, then?” Rachel asked.

Octavian didn’t reply. He soon regretted this when he felt a fresh volley of swats being applied. He screamed and cried until he was sure his voice would go hoarse. His rear already felt very hot, he couldn’t imagine what it would feel like if Rachel kept on at this pace.

Suddenly, Percy Jackson came running into the temple and stopped when he approached the dais. He held Riptide in his hand as if he expected to be met with an army of monsters. Blinking several times, his brain struggled to comprehend what he was seeing before him. Octavian was sprawled across Rachel’s knees, his jeans pulled down just enough to expose the back part of him, although thankfully Rachel had left his boxers pulled up. And…and…Wait…were those teddy bears on his underwear? Percy shook his head. He could have done without knowing that part of Octavian. Too much info.

What was really shocking about the moment was the fact that Rachel was heavily concentrating on pummeling Octavian’s rear with her hairbrush. Octavian screeched and squawked like a harpy as he kicked and twisted in her hold.

Percy winced. But at the same time, there was something about the scene that gave him complete satisfaction. He put his sword away and just stood there, soaking in every moment of it and wishing he had a camera.

“I GIVE UP!!” Octavian suddenly wailed out between sobs. “You’re in charge! I promise to behave! Just stop hitting me with that hairbrush!”

Rachel brought down one last hard smack and stopped. Octavian went limp over her lap, the sobs coming in torrents now, his body shuddering with each one. Gently, Rachel pulled his jeans back in place, although they were still loose around his waist. She would leave the job of fastening them to Octavian. Even though his underwear had been in place the whole time, she could see the redness her brush had made through the white part of them. She secretly admired her handiwork as she pulled his jeans in place, thinking this was probably the first time Octavian had ever been pulled over someone’s knees and had his backside thoroughly tanned. She hoped this little session would stick with him for some time and would help to drive out some of his bratty behavior. If not, then she was more than willing to put Octavian through another session as a reminder in the future, and ever how many more it would take to bring the arrogant augur under control.

Octavian finally moved to get up, pushing himself to stand. He moved shakily and stiffly, his fingers fumbling around trying to secure his belt. He sniffed long and hard, using part of his toga to wipe at his runny nose and eyes. He tried keeping his eyes from moving to look at Rachel, his cheeks and face were flushed with embarrassment as well as from crying. And Rachel wasn’t going to say anything more. Instead, she put her brush down beside her and settled comfortably in her place as if she were ready to watch a ballgame. It was this moment when she finally realized that Percy was standing directly in front of her. Her cheeks flushed knowing that he had been watching the whole thing. She had hoped no one would see it being carried out. Her eyes quickly glanced up at Octavian who, too, had just caught sight of Percy and was blushing an even deeper hue of red.

Turning, Octavian quickly made his way down the steps and walked at a fast pace, hoping to get past Percy and out of the temple before anyone else saw him. Percy’s lips fought to turn into a smile as the augur shuffled by him.

“I hope that hurt,” Percy repeated Octavian’s words back at him mockingly, one corner of his mouth curling upward in a smirk. Octavian stopped and turned a shocked, tearstained face toward him, before scowling menacingly. The look alone could have put fear into the toughest giant if it hadn’t been for the sudden loud sniffle. He was about to say something, but he glanced over at Rachel and her hairbrush and thought better of it. He chose, instead, to silently walk away, but not without turning a quick glance to Percy that said, “I’ll kill you later.”

Once Octavian was out of sight, Percy turned to Rachel, who had her face buried in her hands. He wasn’t sure if she was laughing or what. He cleared his throat, not really sure what to say.

“I didn’t know you were watching us all this time,” Rachel finally said, her voice muffled in her hands.

“I…uh…heard the yelling, and thought someone was in trouble,” Percy replied.

“Someone _was_ in trouble.” Rachel raised her head, a smile on her lips. “Octavian’s butt.”

Percy grinned, glancing in the direction Octavian had exited before turning back to Rachel, his voice low. “I can’t believe you actually did that.”

Rachel lowered her head to hide the laugh that wanted to burst forth. “I can’t believe I did it either.”

“Your brush can make Kronos’ eye black and make Octavian’s rear red.” Percy shook his head in admiration. “Please remind me never to tick you off.”

Rachel finally let her laughter go.

“Hey, Octavian had it coming. I’m surprised someone else hasn’t done it to him by now.” Percy shrugged nonchalantly. “You’ve got guts, I can say that much.”

“Wait… You heard his screaming all the way…” Rachel pointed toward New Rome.

“Yeah…sure did. It sounded like someone was dying a horrible death.” Percy scratched the back of his neck. “There’s a heck of an echo in this place.”

Rachel put a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle a laugh. “I didn’t mean for the whole camp to know about this.”

“Don’t tell Reyna.” Percy cracked a wider grin. “She might make you praetor.”

Both of them laughed.


	2. Meeting with Reyna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Contains spanking and the use of a switch. Don't like, don't read/comment.

Five days passed before everyone at Camp Jupiter started to wonder where Octavian was. No one had heard or seen him except for brief appearances in the unicorn stables and during meals, the latter in which he chose to sit alone. He never stayed long enough to mingle like he had done before. Instead, he always quickly disappeared in the direction of his personal quarters as soon as he finished eating. He even missed out on the war games, which was very unlike him.

As much as she was glad to have a rest from Octavian’s mouth and presence, Reyna began to grow concerned for the augur, wondering why he was suddenly acting so distant. She was also growing suspicious, thinking that Octavian was hatching some sort of plan, which gave her every right to begin investigating into the matter. Naturally, by this time, rumors and gossip had spread over the camp, and any time Reyna made inquiries as to what was going on with Octavian, all she got in return were smiles, snickers, and giggles, which perked her curiosity even more. Although she was smart enough not to believe whatever rumors she heard. She would rather hear the truth.

After a week of this, Reyna finally called Rachel Elizabeth Dare into the principia for a private meeting, hoping that Rachel would explain Octavian’s recent behavior. She found it strange as well as interesting that Octavian went through his drastic change shortly after he met up with Rachel when she first arrived.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare walked into the principia, her tennis shoes squeaking noisily on the marble floor. As she made her way to the center of the room, she kept her eyes on Argentum and Aurum, Reyna’s automaton greyhounds. The gold and silver dogs followed on either side of her until she stopped beside the long table where Reyna was seated in a high-backed chair at one end. Even as they made their way to their mistress’s side, they watched Rachel intently with their glowing ruby eyes as if hoping she would make a wrong move to give them a reason to rip her apart. She had heard stories about them—that they could sense if someone was lying. She made a note to keep that in mind, not that she believed in lying.

“So, what’s up?” Rachel said cheerfully.

“Are you making any headway on the books?” Reyna replied, offering the girl some jelly beans.

Rachel shrugged. “Yeah, sort of, I guess. I mean, it’s hard working with Ella and Tyson sometimes, as you can imagine. We haven’t accomplished much in this first week. The first couple of days were the most frustrating because we couldn’t get Ella to concentrate. The second day we didn’t get any work done because Tyson forgot and brought cheese sticks for lunch and that set Ella off, so she was no good to work with the rest of the day. I felt sorry for both of them, but yeah…that’s basically been the situation. And, of course, you know Ella. She gets distracted easily and only gives information when she wants to.”

“And…Octavian?” Reyna prodded curiously, one eyebrow cocked.

Rachel sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, finally plopping herself down in the nearest chair. She knew she would have to tell everything that happened, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready.

“He hasn’t been helping.”

Reyna sighed and shook her head. “I have noticed that Octavian seems to be acting out of the ordinary, more so than usual. I haven’t seen much of him since you arrived. Any reason for that?”

Rachel Elizabeth Dare grimaced somewhat then smiled nervously. She was pretty sure her cheeks were blushing.

“Uh… He gave me a hard time the first day, and pretty much refused to work with me. So…” Rachel faltered. Reyna motioned for her to continue, “So…I…um…Sort of lost my temper with him…and…I…uh…spanked him…with my hairbrush.”

Reyna’s eyebrows shot up and her mouth hung open. Argentum and Aurum even looked shocked, uttering a questioning whine and exchanging glances with each other.

“I couldn’t help it!” Rachel threw her hands up as if she were in trouble. “He was acting like a snobbish brat and trying to take control. I just…lost it with him.” Her faced burned and she was almost sure it was as red as her hair. She put her face in her hands and slumped over in her chair.

The air was silent for about a minute, and then Reyna started to chuckle, which soon turned into full laughter. It startled Rachel at first because she wasn’t used to seeing the praetor laugh. It made her feel better and a smile started to form on her own lips.

“You spanked Octavian,” Reyna got out through bursts of laughter. “You actually…spanked Octavian.” Reyna straightened up, trying to get her laughter under control. She cleared her throat. “Sorry.”

“It wasn’t hard to do.” Rachel smiled. “You should try it sometime.”

Reyna continued to smile and nodded. “You know, I think I might. I will admit that I’ve wanted to do something to curb that boy for a long time, but I just…didn’t feel right about killing him.”

“I don’t know how you’ve put up with him for as long as you have.” Rachel shook her head in amazement.

“It hasn’t been easy, I can tell you that.” Reyna shifted in her chair. “You don’t know how many times I’ve been tempted to wring his neck, or worse.”

“He responds well to having his bottom heated.” Rachel grinned, pulling her hairbrush out of her pocket. “Something tells me this is going to come in pretty handy.”

Reyna and Rachel laughed.

“Don’t you worry.” Reyna leaned her elbows on the table. “I’m going to have a…talk…with Octavian tonight. I guarantee that he will be accompanying you tomorrow.”

Rachel Elizabeth Dare grinned, playing with her brush. “Is this ‘talk’ going to go in the direction I think it’s going to go?”

Reyna smiled. “Even though he’s already being punished, he still needs something more to make him think hard about and regret what he’s done. For the life of me, I haven’t been able to decide on what to use…well, until now. And I have you to thank for that. It’ll be better than executing him.”

“He acts like a spoiled brat, he deserves to be treated like a spoiled brat,” Rachel mused.

Reyna waved Rachel off. “Go; spend the rest of the day however you like. You can start work again tomorrow after I’ve had a word with Octavian.”

“Thank you,” Rachel replied, standing up. Before she got halfway to the door, Reyna called her name. She turned.

“If Octavian gives you any more trouble after our chat tonight, you have my permission to lavish your brush on him again. If he threatens you in any way or refuses to accept it, you come and tell me and I will deal with him personally.”

Rachel Elizabeth Dare smiled and nodded and then left.

 

“You wished to see me?” said Octavian, stopping beside the table. His appearance was even more disheveled than normal—his hair looking like it had exploded and his baggy clothes looking like he had slept in them several days straight.

Reyna nodded. “Yes. I understand that you haven’t been helping out with the Sibylline Books like we had discussed. I find that a bit odd for someone who’s overly obsessed with them. I thought you would be first in line.”

“Oh, well, I was sort of taking some time off to allow my mind to clear so I can concentrate on rewriting the books.”

Aurum and Argentum started to snarl, baring their teeth. Octavian stiffened, looking for all the world like a child caught in the cookie jar. He started to chew his bottom lip as he eyed Reyna.

Reyna raised an eyebrow and stared at the augur skeptically. “Oh, really?” She leaned forward. “Octavian, you know better than that. Care to tell me the truth?”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.” Octavian crossed his arms. “It’s none of your business. In fact, I want to talk to _you_ about this situation that’s come up about me working with that Greek red-head. I understand that it was your idea? Reyna, you know that I don’t work with Greeks! How could you do something like this?”

“Octavian, you knew you would be working along side the Greeks before this project even started.” Reyna sighed.

“You didn’t tell me how many I’d be working with! I’m going to be surrounded by them!” Octavian squeaked.

“Silence!” Reyna slammed her hand down on the table and stood up, startling the augur into taking a few steps backward. She was inwardly enjoying this moment. “You are no longer praetor and you no longer hold authority over me or anyone else in this camp! I outrank you now, and your way with words won’t work on me. I’ve spent enough of my days listening to the sickening way you win people’s favor with your cunning tongue. Do you think I’m naive? I’ve known for a long time how you work. And after all that you’ve done, you should be down on your knees, thanking me for having enough mercy to spare you being executed. Do you understand that?”

Octavian swallowed hard and quickly nodded, not really sure how to respond to the sudden outburst.

“Now, tell me the truth.”

“Rachel attacked me and beat me!” he squeaked out. The metal dogs at Reyna’s side growled and stood up.

“Octavian,” Reyna warned.

Octavian’s face flushed red, his voice lowering. “Rachel…spanked me with her brush.”

“For what?”

“For refusing to work with her.” Octavian sighed loudly, rolling his eyes up at the ceiling.

Reyna nodded approvingly. She wanted to point out that he had also been a brat about it, but thought better of it and kept quiet. She didn’t want to reveal to him that she already knew everything.

“Don’t you think you deserved it?”

Octavian’s face flushed even redder, his nostrils flaring. “Y-you actually approve of this??” he stuttered. “It was humiliating! First, you strip me of rank and put me to work in the stables, and now you’re approving of a Greek spanking me?? How much lower are you going to make me go?”

“Answer the question, Octavian,” said Reyna coldly.

“No, I didn’t deserve it! Like I said, it was nothing more than humiliating! I’ve been ashamed to even show my face for the past week! I mean, she went above me and attacked me! I should have expected as much since she’s graecus. All of them are filthy, tricky, lying scumbags. She should die for what she did!”

“You didn’t deserve it? You deserved death!” Reyna’s voice rose higher. She tried to keep her temper under control as much as possible, but it was hard. “Ignoring and disobeying orders, going behind my back, treason, nearly starting a senseless war, stepping out of line and appointing yourself as pontifex maximus—need I list off more of your crimes? I showed you mercy by letting you continue to live here in Camp Jupiter and New Rome. The least you can do is put aside your blatant prejudice and learn to work beside someone from Camp Half-Blood.”

The word ‘death’ rang in Octavian’s ears as he eyed the girl in front of him, then he hung his head when she started listing off all of the many things he had done. Somehow it sounded worse when she listed them off back to back. Deep down, he truly was grateful that Reyna and Frank hadn’t executed him.

“I’ve had all I can take out of you. It’s time you learned a few things about paying for your actions.” Reyna reached and snatched up a long, slender switch that had been lying on the table. Octavian didn’t even see it there before and wondered after it was all over if she hadn’t magically pulled it out of the air. At first, it puzzled him as to why she would be holding this…stick. Then it suddenly hit him as to what her intentions were, and his face turned from being red to almost pale. He looked at her in shocked, wide-eyed horror, taking a few more steps backward. Reyna knew that Octavian was mostly show and talk. A few inches under he was a pure coward. And it usually didn’t take much to unearth that cowardice and send him running like a scared rabbit.

Reyna stepped out from her place and made her way toward the augur, determination etched on her face.

“You know, I think it will be a pleasant experience working with Rachel,” he finally said, nodding, forcing a smile. “Your idea was a very good one, now that I think about it. I mean, Rachel being the host of Delphi and me being the former augur…”

Reyna said nothing as she approached Octavian, snatching him by the arm and pulling him along to stand beside the table.

“Ow! Hey, that hurts,” he protested, squirming in her hold. “Careful, I—”

“Bend over!” she commanded, pointing at the table.

“Wh-what? You can’t be serious.”

“I said, bend over! And undo your belt and pull your britches down.”

“This isn’t right!” he protested.

Reyna shot him a cold warning glare. “There is nothing wrong with a person of higher rank doing this to someone of lower rank, or, in your case, someone of no rank. It’s called corporal punishment and it’s been used for years as a method of punishment in armies. You should already know that since you seem to be so smart.”

Octavian’s mouth worked soundlessly, the expression on his face being one of utter defeat. He knew he wasn’t going to get out of this, so he sighed heavily, turned, and did as Reyna commanded. He pulled his jeans down just enough to expose his backside, leaving his boxers in place, and bent forward over the cluttered table. He carefully pushed a laptop computer out of the way, not wanting to be punished more for accidentally destroying it.

Reyna walked over to stand beside him. “Octavian, you are receiving this for all of the crimes you’ve committed against me and everyone else. I should have done this sooner, but was uncertain as to what type of punishment I should use. I have now found one that is fitting for someone such as you. And I am going to make sure you deeply regret your actions tonight.”

Once she was finished, Reyna brought down her switch on Octavian’s backside. He yelped loudly, hissing at the sudden sharp sting he felt seep through his underwear. He wasn’t sure which was worse, Rachel’s hairbrush or this! Another one followed, and then another. He gasped at the overwhelming, stinging pain the switch left behind as Reyna continued to bring it down swiftly and hard.

“I-I can’t take much more of this!” Octavian said, sniffling and beginning to kick his legs in hopes that it might hinder the situation.

“You can’t take much more? Octavian, we’ve just started. You have a lot more of this ahead of you.” Reyna ignored his actions, moving around in such a way that his feet missed her entirely. She placed a hand down on his back to keep him in place as she concentrated on the task before her. She didn’t let up, and instead switched Octavian harder. She would be lying if she said that she wasn’t partly enjoying it. She wasn’t a cruel, sadistic person by any means, but she had been waiting a long time for Octavian to get his comeuppance, and she secretly hoped she would be able to take part in it. Since the job of getting Octavian under control had now been thrown in her lap, she was going to see to it that this spanking would be most memorable.

“How can you be so mean?” Octavian sniveled. “It isn’t right that you beat me like this! I can expect it from the Greeks, but not from you!”

“I’m not beating you,” said Reyna calmly, continuing to bring her switch down as she spoke. “I have no intentions of permanently harming you. This is a spanking. It serves to teach you a lesson and hopefully curb some of your vile behavior.”

“OUCH! Owwwwwwwwww!” Octavian screamed at a particularly sharp swat that seemed to take a bite out of him. Tears flowed in streams down his face. “Stop! Please! This is humiliating! And it HURTS!”

“I hope it _is_ humiliating, and it’s supposed to hurt,” Reyna stated simply, not slowing up her pace, the switch whizzing through the air to leave stinging lines of fire across the augur’s rear end. She pushed down on Octavian’s back and moved to concentrate on administering some of this pain to the underside of his rear and the backs of his thighs. Octavian shrieked out in his high-pitched voice, kicking his legs furiously. “You can kick all you want to, but I am not going to be finished with you until I start hearing signs that I’m getting through to you.”

Octavian gasped, choked, and sobbed out his misery. Some of the words he uttered through his sobs only made Reyna bring her switch down harder. And he immediately regretted ever saying anything.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry!” he wailed. As much as it pained him to say those words, he knew it was better than the pain he was currently feeling on his backside. MUCH better. He was beginning to think that a switch was ten times worse than a hairbrush. By now his rear felt sore, blistered, and extremely inflamed and he felt like he was close to losing his boxers. He thought they would give him some sort of padding, but Reyna’s hand made sure the switch was felt through them. And it was. It felt as if he wasn’t wearing boxers at all.

“Sorry for what?” Reyna prodded, bringing the switch down hard, causing Octavian to lurch forward, arch his back, and scream.

“For everything!” he sobbed through hitched breathing. “For disobeying your orders, for…for starting the war,” He sucked in huge intakes of air, “for blackmailing, treason…”

Reyna stopped to rest, eyeing Octavian. “What else?”

Octavian didn’t answer as he continued to sob. Reyna brought her switch down sharply.

“OW!!” Octavian croaked out. “What else do you want me to say??”

“What about killing Gwen?” Reyna snapped, bringing the switch down sharply again, eliciting another scream from Octavian.

“Bu-but she came back to life!”

“What you did was still wrong!” Reyna brought the switch down hard three more times. “You stabbed her and killed her. You committed murder. If circumstances had been different she would have permanently died. And you knew that!” She brought the switch down harder.

“I’M SORRY!” Octavian choked out.

“I think that’s something you should say to Gwen. But at least we are making some sort of headway,” she said. “You have far more crimes that you could easily be punished for, but I’ll show you some amount of mercy…this time,” said Reyna. Octavian whimpered. “Don’t abuse it. The next time you push me to do this, I’ll take it publicly. In front of all of New Rome, if need be.”

Octavian swallowed hard and nodded that he understood, choking out another watery sob. The thought of being spanked and publicly humiliated in front of the cohorts and New Rome unnerved him greatly.

“Sometimes I ask myself why I keep showing you mercy.” Reyna continued, shaking her head. “I should have had you executed and been done with it.”

“W-why didn’t you?” Octavian sniffled, his nose running.

“Because I felt that you needed a second chance,” Reyna replied. “That’s why I chose instead to administer this. You needed more punishment than simply being stripped of rank and cleaning stables. The only other choice was death, but something about that option didn’t settle well with me.”

Octavian eyed her over his shoulder. The room was silent.

“You may get up and dress yourself,” said Reyna, turning to sit in her chair.

Octavian shakily straightened up, wincing at every move he made. He reached to pull his pants up and buckled his belt. He swiped his eyes and nose with part of his T-shirt.

“H-how did you know about me killing Gwen?” Octavian said in a low voice.

“After Frank became praetor, he told me what he saw that day. We agreed that you were the only one who could have done it. However, we weren’t going to make any public accusations until you had a fair trial.”

Octavian lowered his head, his hands inching back to rub his sore rear. He hissed and winced at his discomfort.

“Since Gwen came back to life, I’m willing to look past your actions this one time, providing that you go to Gwen and offer an apology to her yourself. It won’t be easy, which is why I think that, along with the switching I just gave you, is a fitting punishment. Consider yourself lucky. The next time it happens—and I hope there will not be a next time—you will not find yourself so fortunate. I will say that you have a long way to go before you earn back the trust of this camp.” Reyna lowered her voice, concern lacing her words. “My only question is: Why did you do it? Did you think that would please Apollo, too?”

Octavian swallowed and turned away, not wanting to look Reyna in the eyes.

Ignoring Octavian’s silence, Reyna sighed and decided to change the subject, seeing that the current one had come to a close. “You will join Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Ella, and Tyson tomorrow and start rewriting the Sibylline Books.”

Octavian was about to open his mouth but stopped when Reyna shot him a stern glare.

“I do not want any more trouble out of you.” She tapped her switch on the table. “Do I make myself clear?”

Octavian looked at the switch then back at Reyna then to the gold and silver dogs on either side of her. Finally, he nodded. “Y-yes, perfectly clear.”

“Good. Unless you want a repeat of tonight’s session, I suggest that you learn to obey orders and start doing what you are told. You are walking a very thin line, and I want to make sure you are aware of that. Be glad that you have been given the honor of working on the Sibylline Books. It’s what you’ve been wanting. I know it pains you to work with Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Tyson, but something tells me that it will be good for you. Now that both camps have become allies, you need to learn a little bit about working alongside the Greeks.”

She could tell Octavian wanted to say something, but he held his tongue. Perhaps spanking was what he needed all along.

“Y-yes, ma’am,” he replied in a low voice, sounding more exasperated than anything else.

“You may leave now. I think our talk is over,” she said somewhat wearily. Octavian quickly turned and made his way out.

“Octavian,” Reyna called before Octavian could disappear out the door. He turned. “I’m keeping my eyes on you. Remember, the next time I’m forced to spank you, I _will_ take it publicly. Also, I want you to replace Percy’s Pillow Pet.”

Huffing, Octavian turned and disappeared.

Reyna was left with her own thoughts. Despite the warnings she gave the augur, she knew it probably would not be the last time she’d have to spank Octavian, and she mentally prepared herself for that. Octavian had a long way to go before he would be able to earn back the trust of the camp, and it was obvious that he would probably mess up again before that happened. At least now she had a good way of helping him stay on the path to becoming a better person.

 

-End


End file.
